


Nebula's most terrifying mission

by Ilya_Boltagon



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bonding, Found Family, Friendship, Gen, painful memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-21 06:57:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21295394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ilya_Boltagon/pseuds/Ilya_Boltagon
Summary: A well-intentioned trick from Rhodey, done to try and coax Nebula out of her comfort zone of isolating herself and using hostility as a shield, forces her to watch over Morgan Stark for a few hours. Hijinks and bonding ensue.
Relationships: Nebula & James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Nebula & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 33





	Nebula's most terrifying mission

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Fierceawakening](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fierceawakening/gifts).

Nebula huffed impatiently as she leaned against the wall. She had returned to Terra at Rhodey's request- apparently, there was suspected alien activity at a remote location and he wanted her opinion on whether or not the beings- if they were in fact aliens- were hostile. She had expected to go straight to the location of this unknown activity, but no, Rhodey had insisted she come here, to Tony Stark's old home first, because he had been visiting them when he had heard about this mission, and it seemed that wasting valuable time was a habit she could not break him of- she could have gone straight to this location in the Nevada desert, and had Rhodey meet her there, but no, she was here at the Stark home and he was nowhere to be seen. The home's AI, bizarrely named Friday, assured her that Rhodey would join her for a briefing soon, but until then, she was to wait in this room.

Sighing, she took a look around, wondering if there was any form of entertainment she could use to pass the time. A Terran television, some brightly colored books, odd pieces of plastic that could be toys, stuffed animals... Oh no. Nebula froze. These things had to belong to the small human female, Morgan, Stark's child. She'd only ever seen the girl from a distance, and assumed that would be how Pepper wanted it- who'd want their daughter near a being like her? Yet now, she was in a room that the child seemed to frequent... she should get out of here, and find Rhodey. Right now. She turned and strode towards the door- only to freeze once again, horrified.

“Hello! You're Rhodey's friend.” A little voice announced. Morgan Stark stood in the doorway, smiling, a plush toy tucked under one arm. “I'm Morgan. And your name's Nebula, right?”

Nebula looked around frantically for an escape, unsure if she should reply or simply walk away and tell a _responsible_ adult to come deal with the child.

Morgan tilted her small head to one side. “Do you understand me? You're an alien, so maybe you don't know English...”

“Of course I do!” It came out more harshly than she'd intended, so Nebula attempted a smile. “How could I be Rhodey's friend if I couldn't speak to him?”

Morgan giggled- a high-pitched sound, carefree and innocent, a sound Nebula hadn't heard for far too many years. “I didn't think of that.” She held up her stuffed bear. “This is Mr Steve.”

Only then did it dawn on Nebula that the stuffed bear wore a blue, red and white outfit similar to ones she knew Steve Rogers had worn in the past. Morgan must have named it after him, but why she thought Nebula needed to know her toy's name, or what Nebula was meant to do or say in reply, she had no idea! “That's a.... nice name.” She ventured.

It apparently was the right thing to say, because Morgan beamed. She then went over and picked up one of the books that lay strewn across the table, before coming and standing right beside Nebula, big eyes staring straight up at her. “Mr Steve wants to hear a story. Will you read one to us?”

Nebula's eyes bugged. “Uh... no. I... I can't. Why don't you go and ask your mother to read to you?”

“Mommy and Rhodey went out to get dinner. Happy drove them.” Morgan replied matter-of-factly.

Nebula frowned. “Who's watching you?”

Another giggle, as if Morgan thought she was joking. “You are.”

_What?!_ “No, I am not...” She replied slowly, in contrast to how fast her heart was pounding. The others wouldn't _really_ have gone out and left the child alone with the likes of her, surely?

Morgan's smile became a look that implied Nebula was stupid. “Yeah, you are.”

“No, I am not.” Nebula shook her head, fervently hoping that Rhodey or Pepper would show up soon, and put an end to this practical joke. She'd dealt with Rhodey's sense of humor before, but this was going too far.

Morgan nodded firmly. “You _are_. Rhodey said so. He said you'd be a good babysitter cos you looked after my daddy once when he was sick and all alone.”

“He said... what?” Rhodey had to be referring to her first prolonged encounter with Stark, years ago, after the disaster on Titan, but as if caring for a dying Terran male, stranded on a ship, had anything in common with caring for a small child! “I... I don't know... what to do.”

Morgan blinked. “I thought we were gonna read a story?” She offered the book to Nebula hopefully.

Dubiously, Nebula opened the book to the first page. It was garishly illustrated, with few words, and seemed to be about the eating habits of a green wingless invertebrate. “The very hungry caterpillar...” She began, slowly. A tug on her hand stopped her. “What?”

“We have to sit down and look at the book together!”

Bemused, Nebula let Morgan lead her to the sofa. “Why?”

“Because that's how you read stories to people! Don't you know that?”

“No, sorry, I didn't.” Feeling as inadequate for this task as she'd feared, Nebula nonetheless sat on the sofa, her posture rigid. Morgan scrambled onto the seat next to her, and yanked at Nebula's arms until the book was lying on her lap.

“Now you can read and we can all see the pictures. You see?” Morgan wriggled until she was nestled against Nebula, Mr Steve the bear on her lap.

The child's warm weight against her side felt... odd, but in a good way. It was... soothing. Clearing her throat of a sudden lump, Nebula blinked once or twice, before beginning to read the story once more. It wasn't overly long, and once she had finished the rather pointless (to her mind) tale, she looked down at Morgan uneasily. “Did you enjoy that?” She half expected the girl to say no- entertaining children was something she had never done.

“Mm-hmm. 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' was the first book Daddy ever read me, so it's my favorite now.” Morgan snuggled closer to her. “Did your daddy read you stories when you were little?”

Nebula swallowed a bitter laugh at the mental image those words provoked. “No, Morgan, he didn't. My father was...” She paused, choosing her words carefully. “He was.... busy a lot, and he didn't like telling stories to his children.” _At least, none that would be fit for your ears._

Morgan's eyes widened. “He sounds mean.” She stated categorically, as if her words were undeniable fact. Wistfully, Nebula thought that it must be nice to be able to see the world in such black and white terms. Thanos had certainly been 'mean', he'd been a monster, and yet... some tiny, pitiful part of her still missed him. “Didn't he ever tuck you in at night, or look after you when you got sick, or play games with you? I thought all daddies did that stuff.”

A lump swelled in Nebula's throat, and she closed her eyes. _Grunts and groans of effort, fists striking flesh, stifled, bitten off cries of pain, the scent of shed blood... the harsh white lights and metal surfaces of the labs, the screams and sobs of whichever sibling was being enhanced...._ “No,” she finally managed to speak, her words rasped. “My father was nothing like yours.”

Tiny, warm fingers probed her face, wiping under her eyes. “You're crying.” Morgan sounded concerned, her little chin wobbling. “I didn't mean to upset you.”

Nebula blinked rapidly, trying to will herself to stop. “It wasn't your fault.” Stars knew what she'd do if the child began to cry! “I'm sorry.” It was automatic, to apologize for a weakness like tears when she was in no pain and had no reason to shed them. She was utterly stunned when Morgan clambered to her feet, so she was at Nebula's height, and flung her little arms round Nebula's neck, planting a kiss on her cheek.

Nebula stared at her, bemused, when she drew back, still clinging to her in a looser embrace. “What exactly were you doing?”

“You were upset so I gave you a hug and a kiss to make you feel better. Did it help?”

“Uh... yes. Yes, it did.” And, honestly, just the thought of this little girl who knew nothing about her wanting to comfort her when she was distressed sent an unfamiliar warmth through her. It felt... nice.

Morgan shifted so she was now sitting on Nebula's lap (Nebula hastily moving the book to one side once she realized what the child was trying to do) and leaned her head against Nebula's shoulder. Immediately, she pulled away, leaning back to meet Nebula's gaze. “Your arm is really cold...”

Only then did it dawn on Nebula that Morgan had leaned on her metal arm. The young Terran was now examining that arm and shoulder curiously. “It's metal...” Her young voice sounded uneasy for the first time in this conversation. “You have metal on your face too. How come?” Big, trusting eyes, eyes that were obviously used to adults having answers, gazed imploring up at her.

“It... I... my arm was... injured, once, and had to be replaced with this. My face.... was changed to improve my memory and to better my eyesight.” Nebula chose her words carefully, unsure of what was really appropriate for a child's ears and what wasn't.

“Like Rhodey? He got hurt once, and now he has to use tech stuff that Daddy made so he can walk.”

Nebula's lips twitched in a smile. “A bit like that, yes.” Relief surged that Morgan had an example to compare her to, and so seeing metal implants on someone wasn't a huge shock to her.

“Rhodey says his back still aches sometimes. Does your arm hurt you?”

“...No. I've had it for a long time, it feels normal now.”

Morgan stroked the smooth metal with a fingertip. “It's not as pretty as Uncle Bucky's.”

“Who- oh.” Nebula remembered that one of the other Avengers, 'Bucky' Barnes, also had an artificial arm. “Well, mine didn't come from the same place as his. And the purpose of mine was to be functional, not pretty.”

“What's functional?”

Nebula paused. “Useful.”

“Oh.” Morgan's face puckered in a frown. “So, if your dad wasn't nice, didn't you ever play games as a kid?”

“Games like what?” They had played _types_ of games, Nebula reflected grimly, but nothing that Morgan- or any other child- should have been playing.

“You know, hide and seek, tag, blind man's bluff, stuff like that.”

“No, I don't know games like those.”

“Really? So what did you do when you were a kid?”

“...Trained for work, mostly.” That was as much detail as the little girl needed. Nebula wasn't going to be responsible for giving her nightmares, thank you very much!

Luckily, Morgan's mind was that of a typical young child, flitting from subject to subject with ease. She was now eyeing Nebula's flesh and blood arm. “I like your skin. Blue is a really nice color.”

“Thank you.” Again, that warm feeling bloomed in Nebula's heart.

“But how come you don't have hair?”

“My people don't. It's normal for us.”

“_All_ of you are bald?”

“Yes.”

Morgan wrinkled her nose. “That's weird. People should have hair.”

Nebula's expression turned wry. “You'd probably like my sister then. She has long dark red hair.”

“Wow! That must look cool with blue skin.”

“What?” It took a second for Nebula to catch on. “Oh, no, Morgan. My sister isn't blue like me, she's green.”

“How come she's your sister if you're different colors?”

“Do you always ask this many questions?! Gamora and I were both adopted.”

“Adopted- oh, that's when you got new parents cos the old ones were bad. I read about that.” Morgan nodded. “I'm glad you and your sister got adopted away from your bad daddy. But I still like you better. Blue's a better color to be than green. Green's icky.”

Nebula swallowed hard, and decided not to correct Morgan's innocent assumption- if only someone _had_ saved them from Thanos and raised them elsewhere... But there was nothing to be gained playing 'What if'. She was slightly amused by Morgan's belief that green skin was 'icky', imagining Gamora's reaction if she told her that- assuming she ever saw her again.

Without warning, Morgan jumped to her feet, making Nebula start. “I know what we can do now! I'll teach you to play hide and seek!”

“Alright...”

Catching Nebula's metal hand in her own, not reacting at all to the feeling of cold metal against her warm chubby hand, she tugged her to one of the walls. “You can be 'It' first. You have to turn round to look at the wall, close your eyes and count to a hundred. I'll go and hide somewhere. When you're done, you say 'Ready or not, here I come!' then you come and find me.”

Nebula nodded seriously. “And if I find you, what then?”

“Then you win, and it's your turn to go and hide, and I'll be 'It' and I count. You see?”

“And that's it? The objective is merely to find the other person, and then you've won?”

“Of course. What else could you do?”

“But... what's the point of it?”

“I dunno. It's just fun. Anyway, you can count now. Me and Mr Steve,” she grabbed the teddy from the sofa, “Are gonna go hide. And I'm really good at hiding, it'll take you _ages_ to find me!” She tore off, giggling.

Nebula dutifully did as Morgan had said, obeying the rules by turning her back and closing her eyes, beginning to count. “One.... two... three...” Partway through, she realized she'd forgotten to ask if the game only involved the house's interior, or if Morgan could go outside to hide. She also didn't know if there was a time limit, or a forfeit if she failed to find Morgan, but it was too late now... When she reached one hundred, she called out “Ready or not, here I come,” as Morgan had instructed, then set off along the hallway, instinct making her move silently. Within minutes, she saw a tell-tale bulge behind the curtains of a recessed window seat. Concentrating, she could hear light breathing. Morgan was obviously there, but should she find her so quickly and end the game, or let the child believe in her superior skill at concealing herself for longer? In her own childhood, anything she had failed at, she would be corrected on, harshly, never permitted to view herself as better than she truly was, not for an instant. That decided her: Morgan deserved to have her fun unspoiled for as long as possible. She deliberately walked past Morgan's hiding place, going to search- noisily- in the kitchen instead. After around ten minutes of searching in empty rooms, she returned to the hallway, sighing in feigned defeat, addressing the house computer. “Friday, I am bested. Morgan Stark is simply too good at this task of hide-and-seek.”

A stifled giggle came from behind the curtains. She pretended not to have heard, walking past as if she were oblivious. “I hope that when Morgan does emerge, she is willing to teach me her skills in concealment. I could never master such an ability on my own.”

“BOO!” Morgan burst from behind the curtains with a yell.

Nebula pretended to be genuinely amazed, clutching at her chest in 'shock' as Morgan doubled over laughing.

“I won!” Jumping up and down with glee, she outstretched her arms to Nebula, who eyed her, unsure of what the little girl wanted. “Pick me up!” Morgan instructed helpfully.

Slowly, moving as if the child was made of thin glass, Nebula lifted her, holding her awkwardly at arms' length. “Why?”

Morgan ignored her question, wriggling and leaning forward until Nebula had no choice but to cradle her against her torso. “Do you really want me to teach you how to hide?”

Acting on instinct, Nebula tilted her head so her cheek lay atop Morgan's hair. It felt smooth and silky against her face. That and the tiny limbs wrapped round her made an emotion she had never known surge through her, an almost savage need to protect this helpless, precious creature from all harm, no matter what.

“Nebula?” Morgan's sweet voice piped up. “Are you OK?”

“Yes...” She shifted Morgan to her hip, making it easier to hold her and talk to her. “Yes, sorry, I was just thinking.”

“About what?”

“Hmm....” Nebula's internal sensors picked up the approach of a vehicle outside. A quick scan showed that it was Happy, Pepper and Rhodey returning. A slightly vengeful idea made Nebula smirk. “How about, instead of you teaching me to hide, we both go hide so we can play a trick on Rhodey when he gets back?” That would teach the Terran to lie to her and leave her alone with a child with no warning whatsoever.

Morgan laughed. “Yeah!”

“We should probably let your mother know what's going on though, so she doesn't worry when there's no sign of us...”

“Friday, can you message Mommy, please, and tell her Auntie Neb and I are playing a joke on Rhodey so she doesn't worry when they can't find us?”

“Yes, Miss Morgan.” To Nebula's ears, Friday sounded both fond and exasperated- mind you, since the AI had put up with Tony Stark, that wasn't too surprising.

“Alright, come on, Morgan. We need to go find a good place to hide.”

“Can it be in the garage? Daddy used to hide all his fun stuff out there, so it's a good hiding place.”

Not entirely sure she agreed with Morgan's logic, Nebula nonetheless headed to the garage. There had to be plenty of ways to hide herself and her knee-high companion in there, after all.

* * *

Pepper shook her head at the text she'd just received from Friday, hiding a smile, then quickly pocketed her phone as Happy brought the car to a stop.

“House is still standing, at least,” Rhodey commented as he climbed out of the car. “Gotta admit, considering the way we went about this, I had my doubts.”

Happy, now balancing a pizza box, a styrofoam container holding a cheeseburger, and a cardboard tray of drinks, squinted at him. “Remind me again why you two thought it was a good idea to leave Stark Jr in the hands of an alien merc?”

“She's a friend, Happy.” Rhodey scowled at him.

“She's an Avenger.” Pepper's voice softened slightly. “And she saved Tony's life once. Things have been rough for her lately, according to Carol Danvers- a lot of people up there giving her grief for the life she used to lead, working for... _him_.” She tried not to say Thanos' name unless she utterly had to: Rhodey and Happy would know who she meant.

“Yeah, she doesn't think highly of herself and she _never_ allows time for R and R. Babysitting Mini Tony'll give her a break from her usual doom and gloom, show her that we appreciate her, even if no-one else does. Besides, nobody can be miserable around that kid for long.” Rhodey added.

“I wish you wouldn't call her 'Mini Tony', she does have a name, you know.” Happy grumbled as he opened the front door.

“Yeah, yeah, Morgan doesn't mind and Pep's never complained, so you don't get to.”

“Morgan's _four_, and Pepper's too polite to say when you're being annoying, so actually I think-”

“Boys!” Pepper interrupted before they could start bickering in earnest. “Can we just get inside and eat before the food gets cold? Happy, come help me in the kitchen. Rhodey, can you find Morgan and Nebula, let them know we're back please?” She herded Happy away quickly, so she could fill him in on Nebula's joke on Rhodey before the younger man came running in, panicking because Morgan was 'gone'.

* * *

Rhodey suppressed a grin as he approached the sitting room where he figured Nebula and Morgan would be. He had his cellphone in his hand in the hopes of recording Nebula doing something silly to amuse Morgan, to use to tease her with later. It was a slim chance, but he could dream, right? His expression darkened when he saw the sitting room was empty, a book and Morgan's favourite teddy just lying on the couch, unattended. He looked around, puzzled. He hadn't passed them on the way here, and this house wasn't that big... maybe they were up in Morgan's room, playing dolls or something? His smirk returned. _That_ would be good blackmail material- the terrifying warrior Nebula playing with Barbies. Maybe he could even get Rocket to make the recording go viral....

Except Morgan's room was empty. So was Pepper's. Rhodey knocked on the bathroom door, just in case: no answer. His heart began to pound as he raced back downstairs as fast as he could. He re-checked the sitting room and looked out back, just in case, before running to the kitchen, feeling sick, dreading telling Pepper that Morgan- and Nebula- were nowhere to be found. When he had managed to explain, out of breath from running, Happy gave him a severe glare, and he ducked his head, knowing he deserved it- he'd trusted Nebula to watch Morgan, talked Pepper into this, and now they had no way of contacting her. Pepper wouldn't even make eye contact with him, and his heart sank further. Even if he found Morgan, she'd never trust him again.

“Go check the garage,” Happy snapped at him. “If they've gone any distance, they'll have needed a vehicle.”

Silently, his stomach churning with guilt and unease, Rhodey obeyed. The garage too was empty, but all the cars were still there. He looked around, totally lost. Where the hell _were_ they? Just in case, he began shifting some of the heavier boxes that were in storage here, on the off chance Morgan was hiding behind them. That wouldn't explain where Nebula was, but at least they'd know the kid was safe- and he'd be having harsh words with his so-called friend the next time they spoke, about not watching the kid properly, that was for sure!

“Morgan!” He called out eventually, desperate. The kid could never keep from giggling if she was hiding for whatever reason and heard someone calling her name. He strained his ears, but there was no reply that he heard. Cursing, he stomped around the garage once more before giving up, sick with fear, to go and tell Pepper that they should probably call the cops.

As Rhodey stomped back out of the garage, Nebula dropped silently down from the wooden rafter she'd been balancing on, Morgan clinging tightly to her and held securely by her flesh-and-blood arm, wearing a blue-and-silver helmet that Nebula thought belonged to Pepper, her face pressed to Nebula's shoulder to muffle her giggling.

“One thing you need to remember when you're looking for people,” Nebula whispered conspiratorially in her ear, “Is always remember to look up as well as down.”

Morgan, still stifling laughter, to the extent that her whole body was shaking, nodded.

“Shall we enact the next part of our plan?” Nebula grinned- she wouldn't admit it, but there was joy to be found in this kind of childish mischief.

“Yeah.” Morgan was hiccuping with giggles now, which sounded very strange through the pilfered helmet. Nebula began walking immediately, knowing they'd only be a minute or so behind Rhodey, and picturing his expression when she unleashed her 'surprise' on him. “You remember your assignment, Morgan?”

“Yup.” The little girl spoke in what Nebula imagined was her idea of a whisper. “We're sneaking up behind Rhodey, and you're gonna drop me on his back, and I'm gonna make a really scary noise to frighten him!”

“Mm-hmm. And Friday will have the entire thing on visual record.”

More peals of laughter from Morgan, which Nebula quickly stopped with a finger to her lips, a trick she'd seen Pepper use once when she'd wanted her child to quiet down. It worked admirably too, for such a gentle form of correction.

They were nearly at the kitchen door. Rhodey's frantic voice, burbling apologies and demands to call law enforcement immediately, was clearly audible. “Ssh now,” Nebula whispered in Morgan's ear. She crept into the kitchen without making a sound. As she'd thought, Rhodey had his back to the door, and was gesticulating furiously to illustrate his words. For a second, Nebula felt bad about frightening him to this extent, but then, she'd been scared out of her wits to have been left alone with Morgan, no matter how easy it had proven to be to watch over her, so why shouldn't she indulge in petty revenge?

She edged just close enough that she could reach Rhodey, and lifted Morgan into the air, just behind him. Nebula could have sworn Pepper winked at her, before she inched just a _little_ closer, so she could catch Morgan when Rhodey jumped in fear- she didn't want the child falling on the floor.

Happy (such an odd name) broke into a coughing fit, cutting off Rhodey's panicked speech, just as Nebula released Morgan, and she wrapped herself round Rhodey like a limpet, letting out an ear-splitting shriek right into his left ear.

Afterwards, Nebula and Pepper would both swear that Rhodey leaped ten feet into the air in shock, while Happy would attest, hand on heart, that Morgan hadn't been the only one 'screaming like a little girl'. At that very moment, however, they were all occupied with their own howls of laughter. Rhodey, once he'd gotten over the 'heart attack' as he called it, maintained that he'd known all along they were there. Recorded footage of the incident, made by Friday, that was later distributed to Clint Barton, Sam Wilson, Scott Lang, Rocket and Peter Parker, conclusively proved otherwise, and it took months for the teasing to die down.

Morgan, meanwhile, had thoroughly enjoyed being babysat by her new Auntie, and took to seeking her out whenever she came to Earth (and begging to join her in space someday.) Nebula was careful not to agree to that part, but she did make a point of bringing presents for her new friend each and every time she saw her. Sometimes, when she was left alone to mind the child, something she now loved doing, she'd indulge a fantasy, that Morgan was her own child, the one she knew she'd likely never have.

She had been through hell to get to this point in her life, but having friends who enjoyed her company, for some reason, and two makeshift 'homes', with the Guardians of the Galaxy, and with the Avengers, and to have the right- no, the _honor_, to be trusted with the care of a child on occasion, a child who so freely used the words 'I love you' towards her... these were things Nebula once believed she would never have, could never deserve. Now, against all odds, she had them. Living this life, having all this... somehow, it made all her suffering worthwhile. 'A family is the only thing worth fighting for.' Romanoff had said that once, during those dark five years. Nebula had scoffed then, not understanding it, not really.

Now, at times, usually when laughing with (or at) Quill, or Rhodey, or bantering with Danvers or Rocket, or when Morgan ran to greet her with a warm hug, she thought she understood what Natasha might have meant, and why she'd deemed it a worthy cause to die for.

Because, if it came down to it now... Nebula would do the same.  
  



End file.
